Taxes

Taxes. Ugh! How I hate to do them. I am such a good procrastinator when they have to be done. I have to tell my husband to give me a date to have my share finished or I would let them go until the last day. I also don't like paying them. I'm sorry, I don't trust the government and how they spend tax income. Money gets allocated and lost(?), bills get porked for special projects for "special" people, Government officials spend tax money for personal use, etc. If I could allocate where I would like my tax money spent, I would feel a lot better about the process.

Sorry. Let me get off my soapbox.

My husband gave me the deadline for the 15th, so I did most of my share today. Let's see, the 15th is monday. Sunday I will finish the rest of what I need to do to take them to the accountant on monday.

Besides taxes, I did list a couple of new necklaces in Maria Bella Jewelry.


This necklace is called "Renewal," inspired by the coming of Spring.


And this necklace with the filigree locket is called "Heart Overflowing."

I have more jewelry made, I just don't have it photographed yet.

I also added new listings to Tiger Bead Store and added more to the DESTASH area.

Other than that, the usual grocery shopping and a trip to the pet store. Not a very exciting day, but very productive. Just part of the business of my life.

What's News

I've been busy behind the scenes here, making changes to both my shops. For my jewelry store, I have changed the banner. That was an interesting learning curve. And I also changed the layout to have 3 columns instead of just 2. I have seen other blogs with the 3 columns before and I always wondered how they did that. If you are interested, email me and I will give you the address for the tutorial.

Then, I've also been working hard to try to figure out the photography thing. I have not been happy with my photos, mainly for Tiger Beads, but I did not know how to make them better. So I decided to take the time and do some reading and experimentation and I have gotten better results. They are not perfect and I do not have a "formula" for the perfect photo every time, but I do have more tricks to try.

I also changed the banner for Tiger Beads. I love learning more ways to use my computer creatively, even if it is very frustrating in the beginning.

So I am working on cleaning up my Tiger Bead Store, redoing photos and putting more and more items in DESTASH. This is a good time to come by if you need to stock up on beads. I will be adding more so keep coming back.

And I am expanding my cabochon collection. I have found 2 new suppliers, one which I have all ready ordered from. So if you need cabs, also come by periodically and take a look.

I think that is all I have been up to.

New Jewelry

I added a few new necklaces to my jewelry store this week.


I call this necklace "The Gator." I just love this stamping. It is full of so much detail and character.


This next one has an image from one of Alphonse Mucha's paintings. He was a very popular artist during the Art Nouveau period and one of my favorites.


This last one is an image of a woman with wings of a butterfly. Just beautiful.

So Excited

I'm so very excited. I just had an order delivered this morning of new cabochons. I've been waiting for these for 2 weeks. I love getting new items for my bead store. The new gems are a natural chalcedony, a pretty green onyx, and more prehnite and pink amethyst in new sizes.

Today I am listing new beads in Tiger Beads and jewelry in Maria Bella Jewelry. I will try to photograph some of the new cabs, if not today, as soon as I can.

So take a look and come back often. I try to list new items every week.

February's Birthstone, Amethyst

The amethyst is the birthstone for February. It is the most highly valued form of the gemstone quartz.
It can range from transparent light lavender to smoky violet to the deepest royal purple, but is best known for it's intense, dark color. The darker the stone, the more valuable it is.

Popular with nobility through the ages, amethyst was considered more valuable than diamonds. The Greeks believed it protected them from intoxication, frequently drinking wine from goblets made entirely of amethyst. The ancient Egyptians believed amethyst could prevent poisoning, and it was a favorite crystal of Cleopatra. Many pharaohs were entombed with the purple crystal. And wealthy Egyptian rulers bestowed gifts of amethyst upon middle class citizens and farmers.


Amethyst is sensitive to heat. In fact, very dark crystals are sometimes heated to enhance their color. If overheated, however, it can change color or lose its color entirely. Sun will also cause it to lose color or become pale. The best advice is to store your amethyst jewelry in a dark area to help it retain its original color.

New Necklaces and This and That

Here are 2 new pieces that I just added to Maria Bella Jewelry this week.



This first one is a locket, in silver, that has some filigree stampings added for a more vintage style. The flower is made of lucite and the color in this photo is actually lighter than in reality.


This second necklace features a silver bird stamping with a pretty pearl hanging from it and more pearls hanging from it's chain. Very pretty, very feminine.

Today I am looking forward to getting back in my studio and making more new jewelry.

I do have one appointment. I am going to start some volunteer work next week helping kindergardeners with building their reading skills. I will have 3 students that I will visit twice a week. I love little kids. Five and six is such a great age. But anyway, I am meeting with their teacher today to get acquainted and talk about the students that I will be helping. On the days I actually get to be in my studio, I don't like leaving it to run errands, but I think this will be worth it.

Photographing Jewelry

I have tried many different ways to photograph my jewelry. What I am looking for is crisp, clear images and a good representation of the colors in the piece. And to not have to do so much editing. That is so important. I have spent a lot of time editing to try to get the right colors and brightness in my photos.

I have a light box. I still have to edit when I use it. I have tried photographing without the light box, with my lights, without lights. Ugh. It has been a learning experience.

I decided to read about how other people photograph their jewelry. The latest suggestion I read was to photograph indoors near a window, with a simple background like a colored sheet of paper under the jewelry. What you want is natural light to give you the most accurate color.

Here are a few suggestions:

- The camera you use does not have to be expensive. I have a simple digital that has a close-up feature. My camera has a button with a mountain setting for regular distance shots, and a macro setting (tulip icon) for your close-ups. I take lots of photos and then choose the best from all of them.

- You can, but do not need to use a mini tripod. The tripod keeps the camera steady so the photos are not out of focus. If you can hold the camera steady in your hands, forget the tripod.

- You can take your photos near a window for the natural lighting or outdoors, but you want the lighting to be indirect. An overcast day is good. On a sunny day, photograph in the shade. Too much light will bleach out the colors of your jewelry piece. That I have found difficult to fix with editing. After you take a photo, check the image and see if the colors look right. If not, shoot again.

- Once you upload the photos to your computer, you can always edit them. But the goal is, in my mind, to have to do as little editing as possible.

Her are a few I took today with natural light.





This was the second time I photographed these pieces and they came out so much better than the first attempt.

Hope this is helpful to anyone else trying to take great photos.